Helping your child to cope with back-to-school blues

It’s not unusual for children to dread going back to school. Whether they are far away from home while on a camping trip or spending time at famous vacation areas such as Walt Disney World, they don’t want the fun and excitement to stop. Schools in the United States have various summer vacation periods. On average, a summer vacation for the youngsters is from May through August. Some children don’t think that’s long enough, which is why they fret about the first day of school.

If a child says “I’m not ready for school now,” it is clear that summer zipped by quickly for him. Now, if that same child happens to mutter “I’m ready for school to start. I’m done with summer,” maybe it’s because he was bored, or summer seemed sluggish. But if you have children who aren’t looking forward to school, there are ways to help. Ideal suggestions include having a talk with him and visiting the school.

Explain to your child about school

Explain the big-time opportunities that your child will master in his upcoming grade level. If your child is moving on to the third grade, learning to write in cursive can be explained by his parents. Third graders are often practicing writing “the grown-up way.” Of course, that means he is growing up, and will be able to write more letters efficiently. Any child can also meet their future third-grade teacher as well.

Back-to-school shopping

Just so your child will feel a bit more enthusiastic when he heads back to school, you can let him go shopping with you. Better yet, have him do some of the shopping. He can pick out his own clothes provided they are allowed by you and the school. Perhaps buying a lunch box that has your child’s favorite musical group or cartoon characters on it will make him feel better, too.

Visit your child’s school

Scheduling a time to have a friendly chat with the teacher and have lunch together should make your child feel more comfortable and understand his classroom’s routines. A brief, detailed tour of the classroom can erase the child’s fears away, too. Then, after leaving the school building, the child will be very happy and proud of himself for visiting his kind, meaningful teacher and his classroom.

Believe it or not, this “back-to-school blues” thing does not only affect those who are not quite teenagers yet; it can happen to all students, especially newcomers to high school and college. The best way to deal with those blues is observation. Have the child to do some exploring of his new classroom and/or school. He will be so proud that he did, there is no doubt the school year will be a good one.